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We know it’s more fun for us to drop companies, Vlad Tsepes-like, upon a sharpened pole. Watch ’em squirm. But we’re compelled to recognize good customer service, if only to prove that we are not wholly sadistic overlords.

So Ben and I raise our goblets full of gore to Live Nation, a ticket seller in the Bay Area, for doing something they didn’t have to do on good faith. AttorneyWrangler was all psyched to see his favorite band Wolfmother at the Download Festival. But when WolfMother’s keyboardist suddenly became a father, they canceled their appearance.

“Tough luck!” Ticketmaster would say. But Live Nation gave AttorneyWrangler back his ticket price, trusting that he would mail them their ticket and not scalp it. Good on ’em! That is well beyond the call of duty.

Email after the jump.

“This Saturday, the Download Festival is coming to the Shoreline Amphitheater here in the Bay Area, featuring the finest in indie music (Beck, the Shins, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc.). I wanted to see one band and one band only: Wolfmother. I ended up spending $49 for a main stage ticket. Late last night (Monday), I got an email from Wolfmother’s band website informing me that due to an unforeseen premature arrival of the bass player/keyboardist’s new baby, they’ve scrapped the rest of their tour, including their appearance at the Download Festival. Needless to say, I was bummed.

This morning (Tuesday), I called Live Nation to see if I could get a refund, fully expecting the answer to be, “Um, no, there are plenty of other bands for you to see, it’s not our fault that Wolfmother cancelled, etc.” Robin, the customer service agent, told me that they normally don’t give out ticket refunds, especially for multi-band concerts, but because of Wolfmother’s last-minute cancellation, Live Nation would be willing to refund my money…if I sent them my ticket via overnight mail. Their reasoning: ticket sales for the festival would stop at the end of business on Wednesday, and they needed to have the ticket in their hands by then. I told them I didn’t really think it was fair for me to shell out money (in the form of a Fed Ex charge) to get a refund, but Robin graciously told me that this is what they were offering. I told her I would think about it and hung up.

Not twenty minutes later, Robin called me back. She told me that she had discussed the situation with her supervisor, and that she could now offer me a full refund of the ticket price if I agreed to snail mail the ticket to her “on good faith.” Astounded, I heartily agreed. To me, a thirty-nine cent stamp is a worthwhile expenditure if it means getting $48.61 back. About an hour later, I got an email from Live Nation confirming the refunded amount on my credit card.

How refreshingly rare is this? I started my journey expecting a resounding HELL NO and ended up with YES. Live Nation has my business from now on.”

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